KASHGAR, Xinjiang - Cross-border trade between Kashgar in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Central and South Asian countries is expected to rise by 20 percent in the second quarter of this year.

That's according to officials at the ongoing international trade fair in Kashgar, an important ancient town on the historic Silk Road and China's newest special economic zone (SEZ).

Zhou Yuhui, the director of the Foreign Trade and Economy Bureau of Kashgar prefecture, told China Daily that the seventh international trade fair held in the city attracted more than 20,000 businesspeople, including around 1,600 from seven Central and South Asian countries such as Tajikstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.